The Department of Commerce’s bureau of industry and security has introduced an interim final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations to permit the release of software and certain technologies in the context of standards-related activities.
“U.S. stakeholders need to be fully engaged in international standards organizations, particularly where the critical but sometimes invisible standards that they set have important national security as well as commercial implications,” Alan Estevez, undersecretary of Commerce for industry and security, said in a statement published Thursday.
“Today’s rule provides much needed clarification to U.S. industry and other organizations that will allow for continued U.S. leadership in these critical bodies,” added Estevez.
The rule seeks to address concerns of U.S. industry stakeholders about whether a BIS license is required to issue low-level tech platforms to parties on the Entity List for standards development initiatives.
The bureau is soliciting public comments on the rule and will accept feedback through Nov. 8.
